Marc Gene had a meandering rise to Formula One and never really made an impact on the series. He remained resilient however and holds down the reserve role at Ferrari, while also competing in top flight sports car events.

After winning the Spanish Kart Championship in 1990, he competed in karting for one more season before moving up to Spanish Formula Ford in 1992. Wins followed over the next two seasons before a move to F3 in Britain where he took rookie honours in 1994 and finished tenth the following season.

A move to the little-known FISA Superformula followed in 1996, before he stepped up to F3000, where he recorded a best finish of eighth with Pacific Racing. He claimed championship success in 1998 in the Open Fortuna by Nissan, now known as the World Series by Renault.

His succes propelled Gene into Formula One, with the Minardi team, where he made 33 grand prix starts over the next two years, with a best result of sixth. Out of a race seat in 2001, he landed the testing role at BMW Williams and made three starts for the team standing in for the injured Ralf Schumacher. The 2003 Italian Grand Prix saw him finish fifth from the same grid position. His French and British races the following year saw him out of the points and he was dropped from the race team.